The University of California at Berkeley has admitted that the institution’s negligence substantially contributed to the death of a football player, Ted Agu, during an off-season conditioning session in 2014, according to a report in the San Francisco Chronicle.
The player’s family sued the university for wrongful death, alleging that coaches and other personnel did not properly assist the player when he struggled during a vigorous workout, which involved groups of players holding a heavy rope and running up and down a steep incline repeatedly. The lawsuit also alleges that campus officials did not give the local coroner’s office medical records that showed Mr. Agu had sickle-cell trait, a blood abnormality requiring special medical consideration.
The university made its acknowledgment of liability in court documents signed last Monday, which were obtained by the Investigative Reporting Program of Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism and provided to the San Francisco Chronicle. The documents noted that university officials had released a statement saying that they could now focus the legal proceedings on determining appropriate compensation for the family. The university declined to comment further on Saturday.
Mr. Agu, a defensive lineman, was a walk-on player who did not see much playing time. He had planned to become a doctor, and friends nicknamed him “Pre-Med Ted.”
